About storage on your device and in iCloud

Learn the difference between your device and iCloud storage, ways to manage your space, and where to buy more if you run out.

Device storage

When you buy your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, it comes with a set storage capacity ranging from 16 to 256GB for iPhone, 16 to 512GB for iPad, and 8 to 128GB for iPod touch. The music you buy, the apps you download, the photos you take, and all of the other content that you enjoy on your device uses its storage. And depending on the size of your capacity and how much content you have, your device can fill up and run out of storage. When your device is full, you can’t increase its storage. But you can free up space.

See how much storage you have

Go to Settings.

Tap General.

Tap [device] Storage or Storage & iCloud Usage.

You might see a list of recommendations for optimizing your device storage, followed by a list of installed apps and the amount of storage each one uses. Tap an app's name for more information about its storage.

If you're using iOS 10 or earlier, below Storage, tap Manage Storage to see which apps take up the most space.

Free up space on your device

You can make storage space available on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch when you use iCloud Photos and turn on Optimize Storage. Or you can remove content from your apps—like photos, music, and Podcasts—or delete the apps that you're not using.

iCloud storage

When you set up iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. You can use that storage space to back up your device and to keep all of your photos, videos, documents, and text messages securely stored and updated everywhere. Depending on the size of your backup and the amount of content you keep in iCloud, you might run out of free space. You can make room when you buy more iCloud storage or when you delete content.